Engaging your students through e-polling

Electronic voting systems, polls and so-called 'audience engagement tools' have enormous potential to engage students in learning and inform effective teaching.

The judicious use of electronic voting systems can support: ​​​​​​​

Concept testing: informing teachers about what their students already know
'Just-in-time teaching': teachers can use polls to alter their lesson plans and deliver exactly what their students need – whether that is more or less time exploring a particular concept or an alternative learning activity.
Reflective discussion: teachers can poll the class, and ask for feedback on why different responses were chosen
Peer instruction: students can be encouraged to vote, discuss questions in small groups, convincing each other of the correctness of their answers, and vote again before the teacher reveals the ‘correct’ answer and the rationale or concept(s) that support this.

With a myriad of tools available, it is important to consider the advantages and disadvantages of various platforms and approaches